Divests

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved the merger ofDominion Resources Inc. and Consolidated Natural Gas Co. (CNG)provided Dominion divests CNG subsidiary Virginia Natural Gas Inc.(VNG) to alleviate anticompetitive effects. Dominion, throughsubsidiary Virginia Power, accounts for more than 70% of allelectric power generation capacity in the Commonwealth of Virginia.CNG, through its ownership of VNG, is the primary distributor ofgas in southeastern Virginia. The proposed acquisition is valued atabout $5.3 billion.

Ocean Energy Inc. (OEI) announced two separate sales worth acombined $116 million and 164 Bcf of gas last week, as it carriedout a debt reduction plan aimed at preparing the company for itsmerger with Seagull Energy. OEI said shareholders for bothcompanies are holding special meetings March 30 to vote on themerger. If they vote in favor, the company will be officiallymerged that afternoon.

Aggressively attempting to lower debt before its upcoming mergerwith Seagull Energy, Ocean Energy Inc. sold its Canadian oil andgas division Friday to Quintana Minerals Canada Corp. for $74million. OEI said shareholders for both companies are holdingspecial meetings March 30 to vote on the merger. If they vote infavor, the company will be officially merged that afternoon.

Ocean Energy announced Tuesday it has signed purchase and salesagreements with various companies to divest certain U.S. onshoreassets in an effort to reduce its debt before merging with SeagullEnergy Corp. The sales total $42 million and are located primarilyin the Midcontinent, Permian Basin and Rocky Mountain regions.